ASA University Blog

Amber Auge's Articles

Posted on Monday, March 13, 2017 By Amber Auge

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It’s no secret that bringing a new employee on board is a gamble as well as an investment. You want to know that they’re going to complement your existing team with that rare combination of creativity and ambition, and that they’re going to stick around for the long haul.

A big part of making sure that investment pays off is taking a personal interest in their development as a member of your team. That all starts with quality training.

Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 By Amber Auge

Building a great team is high on the priority list for nearly every company. But employers no longer have the upper hand when hiring. Today's most talented professionals have their choice, with companies fighting for their attention and services. Attracting that talent to your organization is a challenge that must be met head-on, in innovative ways.

The key is selling potential employees on the benefits of working with you. This makes recruiting almost a marketing effort, and in truth, the best recruiting techniques have their roots in the most effective marketing tactics. Here's how to recruit the best of the best in a job market that favors the candidate. READ FULL ARTICLE

Posted on Monday, December 05, 2016 By Amber Auge

HR managers can agree that employee engagement and retention are at the top of their priority list.

Every company wants to attract and keep the best talent.

The problem?

Many employees in today’s job market quickly feel uninspired by their work, get bored after 2 years and start job hunting for something new.

So we decided to speak with some of the best HR professionals and business leaders around the country to find the strategies and employee engagement best practices that they recommend. There are also some tips below that have been really successful for our company.

CLICK HERE to see the 59 employee engagement ideas that you should apply at your office.

Posted on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 By Amber Auge

In many ways, employee training is the secret to the long-term success of a workforce. The opportunities employees are given to grow and develop allow them to do their best work and advance their careers. These opportunities also keep a company competitive as its industry changes and evolves.

From the top senior leadership to the newest hires, everyone benefits from great employee training. There’s just one problem: Most employees hate the training they receive.

Here are four ways to find out what type of training is best for employees:

Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2016 By Amber Auge

A professor in a recent executive education program on leadership elicited a lot of laughs by telling the following joke: “A CEO was asked how many people work in his company: ‘About half of them,’ he responded.” After the session, several participants put a more serious face on the problem when, while chatting, they bemoaned the fact that, in their organization, a significant number of people had mentally “checked out.”

Quite clearly, CEOs and managers should be very concerned about a waste of time, effort and resources in their organizations. The reason is simple: If people are not engaged, how can these same leaders attain those business objectives that are critical to improving organizational performance?

What do we mean by employee engagement? How much does a lack of employee engagement cost an organization? What steps can leaders take to make employees want to give it their best? These and other questions are the focus of this article. READ THE ARTICLE

Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2016 By Amber Auge

You are not alone. A lot of companies have had many of the same problems you've had. Through trial and error, these same companies have found ways that have been successful for them. Check out this new document from ASA University which provides some of these Best Practices on organizations that provide incentives for their employees to successfully complete Training courses. While one size does not fit all, perhaps iterations of these may begin the discussion at your organization.

Posted on Monday, February 01, 2016 By Amber Auge

One of the most compelling value propositions our industry provides the marketplace is our focus on doing “distribution” very well. We have the right products our customers need and deliver them to the right locations when they need them. We carry the inventory on our balance sheets so they don’t have to. And, we’re good at it. In order to do it well and continue to do it better, we rely on partners to help us with other business functions so we don’t have to be good at everything. We ask experts in financial auditing, legal, wellness, fleet management, insurance, payroll, etc. to assist us. Employee training and talent development is no different. Why not get the help you need from an industry-recognized expert to proactively build the best plan? The ASA-U Advisory Service can guide your organization with a best-in-class approach to developing your staff for your talent needs of tomorrow; so you can continue to do what you do best.

Posted on Wednesday, December 02, 2015 By Amber Auge

There have been a lot of questions lately about Leadership Training and options available to ASA Members. ASA University offers many options for Leadership Training. The College of Leadership is one of those options. If you are looking for Individualized role-based training for your managers, then this might be what you are looking for. There is also a large selection of Leadership Courses available in ASA University's Online Store for if your Leaders need help developing in one particular area. The most extensive option is the Master of Distribution Management (MDM) Certification Program. This Program is for current and future leaders and is all about empowering candidates to be the best leader they can be for your company. The MDM Program provides the skills to learn and lead with confidence. The Program is flexible, which allows for any candidate to make it work with whatever time they have in their schedule. There are five phases to the MDM Program, which could take anywhere from a year to two years to finish. Learn more about the Program by watching the short video below. No matter which option you choose, training your leaders can only lead to future success for them and your company.

Posted on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 By Amber Auge

ASA University staff is available to assist ASA Members more closely with their training initiatives and programs. We’ve structured ASA-U Advisory Service fees to be both flexible and all-inclusive to member needs since each member’s needs vary greatly. When it comes to training— members accomplish the things they want and avoid the things they don’t.

Here is an example from Joe Poehling at First Supply describing his experience with ASA-U's Advisory Service: